I-League title race set to go down to the wire
NEW DELHI NEROCA AND MOHUN BAGAN ARE STILL MATHEMATICALLY IN A POSITION TO WIN THE ILEAGUE THIS SEASON, BUT THEIR CHANCES ARE CURRENTLY QUITE FARFETCHED
: The disappointment was clear on Khogen Singh’s face when the final whistle went off in Panchkula on Tuesday. Just two weeks back, the Minerva Punjab FC coach was confident of his team’s chances of winning the I-League and he even went on to tag them the ‘favourites’. However, back-to-back defeats against East Bengal and Gokulam FC have hampered their momentum and with three matches remaining for the Punjab side, the race for the trophy is all set to go down to the wire.
Minerva have been one of the most consistent sides in the competition this season and they went into the match against Gokulam as favourites. But, Binu George’s men were also high on confidence after beating thirdplaced East Bengal and a late goal by striker Henry Kisekka proved to be the deciding factor. As a result, Minerva need seven points from their last three games to claim the title if East Bengal win all their remaining matches.
E Bengal, who are on 26 points, need to win their remaining three matches to clinch the title, but will need Minerva to drop at least three points. It will not be easy for them as they will be facing relegation-threatened Chennai City FC and top-placed NEROCA FC (31 pts, 17 matches) before travelling to Shillong for the final game. A loss will still keep them in contention for the top prize but in that case, they will have to depend on Minerva’s results.
NEROCA and Mohun Bagan are still mathematically in a position to win the I-League this season, but their chances are currently quite far-fetched. While NEROCA have just one game in hand, Bagan (24 pts, 15 matches) need to win all their matches and hope that East Bengal, Minerva and NEROCA fail to cross the 33-point mark for the 2014-15 winners to lift the trophy.
At the bottom of the table, the relegation scenario is shaping up into an interesting battle between Chennai City, Churchill and Shillong Lajong. Gokulam and Indian Arrows are exempted from relegation and that has made life tough for these three teams. Churchill are on 16 points and they need 7 points from their last three games to escape the drop.
Chennai, who are also on 16 points, have a tougher road ahead as they need to win their last two games against title aspirants East Bengal and Minerva. They will also need Churchill and Lajong to drop points, in order to survive. Lajong (21 pts, 17 matches) will be safe in case Chennai fail to win both their games or Churchill don’t earn at least five more points. If all three sides end up on 22 points from 18 matches, Churchill will be relegated due to a worse head-to-head record. 4 2 5 6 3 1 6 7 1 3 4 4 3 3 8 8 5 6 9 9 +7 +6 +7 +11 -8 -4 0 -4 -9 -6 31 29 26 24 21 19 18 16 16 15